Red Robin.

Today before I had to go into work, Brent took me to lunch at Red Robin. I had never been to Red Robin before, and Brent had not been since he lived in Chicago several years ago. For those of you who don't know, Red Robin is a restaurant that specializes in gourmet burgers, and let me just start out by saying this - It. was. fabulous.

We both ordered pomegranate tea to drink, which I would have liked better had it been sweetened, but it still had a light and refreshing taste. After starting with the Towering Onion Rings appetizer, I once again found myself wishing I had brought my camera with me (luckily I was able to find pictures on the internet). The onion rings truly were towering, and quite delicious I might add! The breading on the onion rings was amazing, and they were nice and crispy. The appetizer came with two different sauces, one that was called a campfire sauce, and the other being ranch dressing. Of course, I asked for barbecue sauce to dip my onion rings in (as mentioned in my previous post, I am obsessed with barbecue sauce), although I did try the campfire sauce. I thought the campfire sauce was okay, but Brent thought it tasted great and he seemed quite impressed with it.

For my main course, I ordered the Whiskey River BBQ Burger, which is topped with Whiskey River BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, onion straws, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayonnaise (I ordered mine minus the tomatoes and mayonnaise). Typically I order burgers medium, but according to the waitress the burgers at Red Robin are cooked either with "some pink" or "no pink." I decided to go with "some pink." When the burger was served, it was brought out in a basket with lightly seasoned, thickly cut steak fries. The burger looked absolutely mouthwatering, and when I took my first bite, I discovered it was cooked to perfection. The steak fries were wonderful as well, which I also dipped in barbecue sauce. (Naturally!)

After we had finished our meal (to go boxes were definitely in order), Brent and I were discussing the specialty drinks that were on the menu. I mentioned there were a couple that sounded right up my alley, so Brent decided we should try one. After reading the descriptions in the menu, we settled on a drink called Sand in Your Shorts. It is a mix of Chambord (one of my absolute favorite liquors), vodka, peach schapps, Midori, triple sec, orange juice, cranberry juice, and sweet 'n sour (however, our drink came out more orange than red, unlike the one pictured). Living up to the expectations that were now in place, the drink was fantastic. I would have opted for a second (and perhaps even a third) if I hadn't been scheduled to work later in the afternoon.

Going in, I wasn't sure what to expect of Red Robin, but I definitely left looking forward to my next visit. Red Robin had the winning combination of a comfortable atmosphere and delicious food, not to mention I was in great company with Brent as my lunch date. :-)

Overall Grade: A